Thursday, April 6, 2017

Marijuana in Park County

Yesterday evening the Park County
Sheriff's department had a community meeting to answer the questions
and concerns of the people in the Bailey area. This meeting was in
response to the recent home explosion in the Burland subdivision
where three people were severely burned. The cause of the fire was
allegedly due to the butane processing of marijuana into hash oil.

Bailey residents were particularly
worried because of the recent fire hazard in the area. Bailey had
been under a fire ban for most of the last month and the fire at the
home spread to the nearby vegetation but was stopped by emergency
officials.

At the meeting Sheriff Wegener and two
deputies addressed the public's questions. Two county
commissioners were also present and made comments at the end of the
meeting. The message of the meeting was aimed at two audiences: 1) Park County Residents that disprove of marijuana and 2) marijuana
growers.

Park County Residents

The Sheriff and his deputies requested
that residents monitor suspicious activities of neighbors, including
writing down the time of comings and goings, license plates of
visitors, any potential foreign odor, the presence of a vicious dog,
more than one security camera, or anything that raises concern. Residents can then call the
Sheriff's marijuana hotline 719-836-4417 to report said suspicious
activities.

The Sheriff Wegener implied that
informing on neighbors could stop a future butane extraction
explosion. However, at another point in the meeting the deputy over marijuana enforcement explained that he had been to the
house that caught on fire but he was not allowed in.

Residents raised additional concerns
that the occupants of an illegal grow house would retaliate if a
neighbor reported them to the Sheriff. The Sheriff replied that was not aware of any retaliation in the past.

Marijuana Growers in Park County

The basic message to marijuana growers
was “we are out to get you if you are not in strict compliance with
the law.”

The deputies explained that when they
get a credible report from a neighbor of smells, out-of-state
vehicles, blacked out windows or other signs of a grow house, two or
three deputies would then go to the house and ask to inspect the
premises. Of course most people let the deputies in. If the grower
is not in exact compliance with the State's laws and regulations as
well as Park County's ordinances the grower will be cited.

As the deputy said “the citation is
often for a Class 2 petty offense with a fine of $1000 or less, but
usually only a few hundred dollars.” This seems like no big deal,
RIGHT? WRONG! what the deputy also said was that there would be a
follow up visit to verify compliance and that the grow house would be
on the “list” of homes that would be under regular surveillance
for future violations.

If law enforcement officers show up
at your door, DO NOT LET THEM IN unless they have a search warrant!
DO NOT TALK TO THEM unless your attorney is present! After they
leave (or if they won't leave) CALL Runyan Legal Services right away
at 720-675-7094

Also be aware that the Sheriff's
department is very concerned about the potential presence of health
hazards such as molds and chemicals. They may offer to make a
“health safety check” as a pretext to entering your home. SAY NO
THANKS and DO NOT LET THEM IN! Then call my office 720-675-7094.